1820

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

the majority of authors mistaken for individuals of the opposite sex ; hut Dr.Horsfield ( Lepid. Javanica) detected the error, by carefully investigating thestructure of the insects. In the sixth volume of the Magazine of NaturalHistory, p. 227., are several notices of this insect. Mr. Conway observes that,in Monmouthshire, individuals of this species present a very beautiful sight,while sporting about the tops of the oaks just at sunset, the brilliant blue oftheir beautiful wings catching the light as they fly, and then the wholedisappearing among the foliage. These insects are very pugnacious, andfrequently destroy their beauty by pursuing each other through the trees.They are, however, easy of capture; for, when once they alight on thefoliage, they may be approached closely without being disturbed. {Ibid.,p. 511.) Before appearing in their pupa state, they are said to retire into theearth. {Ibid., p. 189.) A correspondent of the same magazine (vol. v. p. 67.),speaking on the planting of certain trees, as a means of attracting the insectsand birds which feed on them, mentions that, having made some oak plant-ations near his dwelling, he was agreeably surprised to find near them Theclaquercus, and Melitse'a Euphrosyne, pearl-bordered fritillary; insects whichhe had previously never seen within some miles of the spot.

In the following list, the lepidopterous insects marked thus# feed onother trees as well as upon the oak; and the lepidopterous insects markedthus j- feed exclusively on the oak.

Amongst the Sy>Amgidae, the caterpillar of *Smerinthus tilise Linn., or limehawk-moth occasionally feeds upon the oak; but amongst the LinnaeanB ombyces, the number of oak-leaf feeding species is very considerable, in-cluding *Pygse'ra bucephala (the buff-tip moth), *Stauropus fagi (which,from the singular form of its caterpillar, has been named the lobster-moth),*Lophopteryx camelina, the species of Chaonia Steph., including j-C. roboris,j-dodonea, and f quernea, all of which feed exclusively upon the oak;#Petasia cassinea (the sprawler), f Peridea serrata, *Saturni<z Pavonia (theemperor moth), and * S. tau (the tau emperor), * Lasiocampa quercus, and#roboris. -j-Cnethocampa processionea (or processionary moth) is a veryinteresting species, common in France and Germany, but not yet ascer-tained to be an inhabitant of this country. The larvae construct a commontemporary nest upon the branches of the oak, the situation of which theychange from time to time, until they are about two thirds grown. They arehairy, and varied with grey and ashy brown stripes, and yellow spots on theback, and are nearly allied to the caterpillar so common upon fruit trees,the moths of which, from the striped appearance of the caterpillars, have beencalled lackey moths; some time before they attain their full size, they unite,and construct a general nest upon the trunk. “ This nest, when completed, isabout 1 ft. 6 in. long, 6 in. broad, and composed of a grey silk, resemblingthe surface of the tree; but the most curious fact in their history is, the extra-ordinary regularity with which the larvae proceed, towards sunset, in search offood. At their head is a chief, by whose movements the procession appearsregulated; and he is followed by three or four in a single line, the head of thesecond touching the tail of the first, &c. Then comes an equal series of pairs,next of threes, and so on as far as fifteen or twenty, forming a band several feetin length. Sometimes the order is rather different, the leader being followedby two, then three, and so on; but at all times the procession moves on withan even pace, each file treading upon the steps of those which precede it,through all the sinuosities made by the chief. They do not invariably returnto their nest before morning, but may sometimes be found during the dayassembled in irregular masses, heaped upon each other.” {Steph. Illust.Haust., ii. p. 47. note; Reaumur Memoires, tom. ii. mem. 4., with 2 plates;Nicho/ai Die Wander oder Prozessions Raupe, &c. Berlin, 1833, 8vo.) Accord-ing to Reaumur, it is dangerous to approach the nests of this insect, especiallyat the period of the moulting of the caterpillars, on account of the irritatingeffects of the hairs, which at that time float about in the atmosphere. Someladies who accompanied Reaumur in his observations were much affected,